Rodias
=Physical Description= Clad in frost-laden armor inscribed with gleaming runes of power and wielding weapons bearing the same, Rodias has quite obviously left behind the strictly martial path he once followed in order to fully embrace the fighting styles of the Scourge. Now a full-fledged Death Knight, the corruption that once tortured the Scourge Hunter now is seen as a blessing. Icy mists flow from his exposed flesh and weaves out from the plates in his armor, and his skin is tinted a deathly pale blue. Gleaming blue eyes also accompany the overall chilling visage, which is further pronounced by the layers of frost and ice that covers his armor, continually freezing even if it becomes warm enough to melt some of it. Despite all this, Rodias keeps a look of cheer and odd energy about him almost constantly. A grin is almost always spread across his face, though its look often ranges from a mischevious and almost dark smirk to a cheery smile that one would expect after a good joke. Often times, Rodias is either seen in full battle armor or one of a few sets of ritualized robes or armor. The full battle armor is as one would expect; fully functional and heavily customized to suit the Death Knight's needs. Notably, Rodias has had excess plates removed from his armor, removing some of the protection but allowing him to move unnaturally swiftly in combat. Though pieces of the armor often are changed out for repair or due to some pieces offering different statistics necessary for different situations, one piece of Rodias' heavy armor always remains constant; a helmet resembling a horned skull, with an opening in the front for Rodias' grin to shine through. His ritual armor is much less customized, and instead is fairly common amongst the Acherai Death Knights. Acherus-made black robes and an obscuring hood, along with two shoulder plates showcasing bound skulls with shimmering blue eyesockets are the key pieces. Most often, Rodias is seen in this garb when not in battle, and he is quick to point out that it's, "Just damn comfortable." Usually, he keeps the hood pulled down so only the bottom part of his face is visible, concealing his eyes. =Personality= A far cry from his formerly brooding, almost melancholy habits of his, "Pre-Re-Scourging", Rodias has become almost unsettlingly cheerful and sarcastic, turning almost a 180-degree shift from his old self. Quick to jest and poke fun, even during serious or dire times, the Death Knight sets himself apart from a lot of his darker "kin" by simply refusing to take much seriously nor feel any form of sorrow or regret at his current state. In fact, many have come to realize he considers his fairly newfound powers to be an outright blessing in his fight against his hated enemy, the Scourge. Though he does not preach for others to change to follow his example, he takes every opportunity to prove himself stronger due to the change. One major factor in Rodias' personality is his simple lust for battle. Notable for his love of a good fight, be it a brawl in a bar or alley or full-blown warfare, Rodias simply dives into the chaos with an almost menacing laugh and grin and begins hacking away at his enemies with his runeweapons, all the while blasting them with the signature attacks of the Ebon Blade's finest. Even amongst friends he is quick to jump into duels just for the fun of it, and often continues laughing and smiling even if he is trounced. "A good fight is like a good bottle of liquor; tastes and feels great when you're taking it on, and for hours afterwards if it went well!" Though his intentions are often good, Rodias has a tendency to follow the belief that the "ends justify the means", often taking sacrifices to accomplish necessary goals. On occasion he will break from this belief, especially for friends or family, but amongst many he is known for making rather cold judgements in order to successfully accomplish a mission. =History= =Family= Antias - Rodias's brother, now a Paladin. After his mistake that lead to fatalling wounding his brother, Antias took up the sword and the book of the Light in order to redeem the Redhammer name. After learning his brother was alive once more, in a sense, Antias quickly attempted to regain contact with his brother. Though the initial encounter began poorly, it ended with the two regaining their bond, and now they would break any treaty or law of the Alliance or Horde in order to protect each other. The younger Redhammer now serves as an investigator in Stormwind, and acts as a liason to the Guard there; he's also known for being much like his brother, only a much toned down version. Antias is also a recovering alcoholic... Though he still has a tendency to binge on occasion. Saraphine - Rodias's mother. Saraphine is an aged priestess within the Citadel in Stormwind. Though destroyed by the loss of her husband and later her eldest son, she has yet to find out that Rodias lives once more and fights against the Scourge instead within it's ranks. She is very protective of Antias as she believes he is the last remaining part of her family, and she has been known to stand up to anyone on his behalf. Amnennar - Rodias's sentient weapon and trusted "friend" in a sense. Amnennar was created when he imbued a claymore with shards of the giant elemental, Garr, and his own blood. In a dark ritual he bound the soul of a fallen Nerubian warrior named Amnennar, to his blade (Harbinger in Nerubian.) Amnennar was once a powerful soldier that fought along with his brethren against the Lich King long ago, though he himself fell during a siege of one of the cities. The spirit hates the Scourge almost as much as Rodias, and he often chats with his master in the Nerubian tongue. His voice is barely audible, though it's described as coming and going like the wind in volume in a raspy, hissing tone. Amnennar also has the ability to flow from it's host weapon into Rodias, allowing the Scourge Hunter to channel the power of the fallen Nerubian with horrible strength. Amnennar is also known as "The Devourer", for his habit of devouring his fallen enemies after he slew them in life, thinking he would absorb their strength. Though no longer bound to the claymore, Amnennar still follows his master with a devotion unheard of amongst most familiars encountered today. He is known to reside in the body of a fallen Scarlet Onslaught Paladin, which he took control of if only for the biting irony. Amusingly, he still does not understand much of Alliance nor Horde culture, and is often confused by their subtleties and habits. He also draws out his words with long, droning "n" noises and a hissing "s". =Rivals= Slyph - A once-Tear of Draenor, Rodias had seen Slyph as one of his greatest foes. He and the massive Scourge warrior had a long stalemate of a duel in Winterspring, in which the two beat each other to near-death before reinforcements arrived and scared Slyph into bluffing them off. Rodias was hired to deal with Slyph after he attempted to slay many of the Tears, however was never able to complete the contract. Even now, Rodias seeks a replacement, though he has yet to find one. "Enemies like that bastard are hard to find; tough, brutal, cunning, and willing to do anything to get the job done. Damn I loved fighting that guy." Duke Dreadmurk - =Recent Events= Northrend - Thinking his time near due to the corruptive power of the scourgestones planted in his body, Rodias set sail for Northrend, alone, in order to die valorously in combat, be it with Arthas himself or while simply taking down as many Scourge as he could. He spent months in the frozen north hunting the Scourge that swarmed the land, but soon realized that the Scourge sent at him were either rotted to weakness or ancient and frail. This insult was further punctuated by powerful Death Knights that were sent after the Scourge Hunter after he had expended some energy destroying the rabble before them. Regardless, almost all these Death Knights were destroyed and now have their skulls now hanging from Coldeye's saddle as trophies. Rodias eventually turned back after a successful communication was made to him by his brother, Rutarin Firestar, Linael, and others, along with a series of defeats at the hand of Duke Dreadmurk, Rodias's Death Knight rival. It was not long after, just before the incursion into Northrend by the greater Alliance and the Horde, that Rodias returned to Northrend. Foregoing any long or drawn out events, Rodias made a b-line straight for his rival, Duke Dreadmurk, who was simply waiting for him on the shoals of the frozen North. Immediately engaging in a brutal duel, Dreadmurk eventually gained the upper hand and taunted the weakened warrior, who responded to what he thought was Amnennar pushing him forward... However, it became clear as his strength suddenly came rushing back with more than ever that the voice was different, and it was already too late when Rodias heard the real voice of his blade screaming for him to stop. The Scourgestones that had been embedded in Rodias' skin shattered, spilling out massive amounts of runic power and transforming the Scourge Hunter into that which he once preyed upon. Rising as a true Death Knight, Dreadmurk lowered his blade and welcomed his new brother in arms before being cut down viciously in an act reminiscent of that of his new King, when Arthas cut down Mal'Ganis after the Dreadlord was betrayed by Ner'Zhul. '''The Third Company - '''Gaining some noteriety amongst the Ebon Blade due to his zealous nature at hunting and destroying the Scourge, Rodias was soon sought out by forces within Acherus to act as a trainer for the "new" Death Knights that began to arrive from their awakening, be it Light's Hope or events after that. Though far from the first one to be asked to fill the position, Rodias quickly rose to be one of the most dedicated and skilled at the practice, becoming known almost jokingly as "Champion" of the "Third Company". The name originally arose more of an amalgam of factors; the "Third" was known for being on the third tier of Acherus, not often seen by the more skilled Death Knights already out and wandering Azeroth and beyond, while "Company" simply referred to the fact that the small amount of trainers that were gathered seemed to treat the neophytes like visitors or guests upon arrival, before switching them into the training regimen once they began to gain true control over their newfound strength. Not long after their formation, new Ebon Blade soldiers began to pour into the Third Company, seeking further training. Though the training was particularly difficult and brutal, the "Third" began churning out some of the best soldiers in the Ebon Blade outside of those already wandering outside its walls. Despite this, few stayed, and many were moved to other groups or struck out on their own, while only the most skilled, those loyal to the banner itself, or ones that simply refused to leave their trainers and masters whom they saw as father or mother figures, remained behind as trainers. The leadership of the Third, Rodias included, noted that perhaps recruitment outside the Blade was necessary, so they began searching the Horde and Alliance for those that specialized in areas outside that of Death Knights; be they martial masters, arcanists, marksmen, thieves, and so forth. '''Icecrown Citadel - '''The battling in Icecrown had already been taking its toll on both the Alliance and Horde, as well as the Argents and the Ebon Blade. Though both former and current soldiers of the Third Company had a small bit of renown for having some of the fewest losses amongst those in the Ebon Blade, even they saw more than their fair share of caskets and bodybags come back to them. Despite this, during the final push on Icecrown, Rodias himself led a great many of his men towards Icecrown itself, all seeking to prove themselves as one of the Knights mentioned, "Some of the best damned soldiers in this world and the next... And probably the one after that!" All were dedicated to the cause, driven by a strong hate for the Scourge, their loyalty to the Third Company and their masters, and other personal reasons. While the final battle raged on without their knowledge, the force moved in on the Citadel, only to fall into a series of brutal ambushes and waves of shock troops, instead of the legions of lesser Scourge that were anticipated. The battle ended not long after Arthas was taken down. The Third Company's soldiers easily lived up to their reputations, pushing through each ambush and breaking each wave of enemies thrown at them... However, their death rates were enormous. Worse yet, news of the battle already having ended reached the men just as they finished their final cleanup, ironically crushing morale of some of the Knights as their chance to take the fight to Arthas himself slipped away. Less than a fifth of the Third Company remained standing, and despite overcoming great odds, many found themselves restless and melancholy rather than feeling the surge of victory they had expected. Rodias, blaming himself for errors in logistics and feeling he lead what he felt were essentially his sons, daughters, brothers and sisters into a deathtrap, lost his normal cheer and had it replaced by a burning anger and sense of disappointment. Many of his troops have seen him alone digging the graves of his friends and brethren below Acherus, in the outdoor training area below the Necropolis that the Third had used. His normal cheer has since been nullified, replaced by an empty feeling, having lost his greatest foe without being able to even raise a hand in stopping him personally, along with losing so many friends in the battle. Category:Horde Category:Forsaken Category:Death Knight